Snap, Crackle, and Pop
by Mack.The.Awesome.16
Summary: After a run in the woods, Magenta and her best friends, Meredith and Otto, are pulled into the terrifying world of the supernatural.
1. Chapter One: The Grey Hound

_**A/N: Well, here it is folks! A totally changed and totally new version of Bitten: Book One, a fanfiction I started back in middle school. Enjoy!**_

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><p>Chapter One.<p>

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><p>"Can we go home yet? I'm cold." Meredith whined as they trudged through the wet and dark forest, arms wrapped around herself tightly. Magenta turned towards her and gave her a wide grin and shook her head.<p>

"We haven't found it yet, Mer. Just a little long, okay? I promise."

"But Maggie we've been at this for hours. The cook out is probably over by now anyway." Magenta ignored her and continued to walk forward, hands shaking with excitement as she studied the map in her hands again. "Magenta-"

"Shh! I'm trying to think."

"That'll take a couple years." She muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes at her friend. _Why was she trying so hard to prove that it was real? And because of Timmy Tomlinson_. She clenched her fists in annoyance. _This is so stupid! I just want to go home and watch some Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Not get lost in the woods all night with my idiotic best friend. It's not as if the Grey Hound is re-_

**_SNAP!_**

"Shit, what was that?" Magenta looked up with wide eyes, looking towards the direction of the broken twig. "Mer-"

"We're going to die!" Meredith grabbed onto Magenta's arm tightly, digging her nails into her red flannel sleeve. Tears suddenly poured down her face like a waterfall. "The Grey Hound's after us!"

"Meredith, calm down."

"We're going to die and nobody is going to know where we went! They won't find our bodies for days and we'll rot!"

"Meredith." Magenta chuckled lowly at her best friend and rubbed her back, attempting to calm her down while trying not to die laughing. Meredith trembled, digging her head into Magenta's shoulder.

"I can't believe I left the greatest cookout of the century to go on a walk into the woods with you. You have no sense of direction! Actually your sense of direction is danger." A sob choked her throat. "Oh my gosh, we're going to get murdered by a mythical creature and have our blood splattered everywhere!" Magenta yanked Meredith's hands off of her arm and made her face her.

"Meredith, we aren't going to die! You're worse than my little cousin, and he's only six years old." Meredith sneered for a second before pouting, wrapping her arms around herself again. "It was probably just a deer or something."

**_SNAP!_**

"Or something." Meredith said softly, hand pointed towards a black figure standing in the line of moonlight, broad shoulders casting a larger shadow over their faces. A loud scream barreled out of her mouth.

"Shit!" They sped off in the opposite direction. Suddenly, Magenta's feet caught out from under her and her head knocked against the forest floor. Meredith, oblivious to her best friend's demise ran onward, scared out of her mind.

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><p>"Meredith! God damn it, I'm not the Grey Hound!" Otto ran towards his screaming friend, teeth clenched in annoyance. "Ugh, calm the fuck down for a second! Meredith!"<p>

"Stay away from me, Grey Hound!" Her body fell against the moist dirt as she tripped over a stick, her nails digging into the soil as she caught herself. "Shit, I don't wanna die! Please don't kill me Grey Hound!"

"For fucks sake I'm not the Grey Hound! Get a grip on yourself." Meredith finally stopped screaming when she noticed the familiar black curly hair and tortoise framed glasses.

"Otto, you asshole! You had Mags and I terrified to death." She looked around for a second when she didn't hear her friend's usual remark on her hated nickname. Magenta wasn't with them. "Hey, where's Magenta?"

"I saw her run in the direction of your house, which is opposite of what you did. She's probably waiting for us by now with a sullen expression while she eats all of your ice cream sandwiches."

"Are you sure?" Meredith cringed when she noticed the scratchiness in her voice. She would definitely have a sore throat tomorrow.

"Well, I mean I'm not entirely sure-"

"What if the Grey Hound got her? She could be dead with her organs thrown across the trees!" Otto helped her stand up as she ranted loudly to him, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Meredith, I highly doubt that she is going to be killed by some phantom. It just isn't plausible."

"Then how do you explain Pastor Mark last month?" Otto smirked as his best friend challenged him.

"Coyote."

"Andrew from out Bio class last summer?"

"You of all people should know that the chemo didn't work in his favor."

"But he was walking in the woods when they found him!" She yelled at him, frustrated that her facts were being dismissed as mere coincidences'. "He was covered in blood!"

"He was only taking a short cut to his backyard. And he had thrown up before he passed out." Otto chuckled and shook his head at her. "You can't prove anything, Mer. I'm a hundred percent positive she is sitting at your house waiting on our asses to get back."

"Do you really think so? You really think the Grey Hound didn't get her?" He nodded and wrapped an arm around her, kissing her forehead.

"Of course. Don't worry, okay? In no time we'll be having a movie marathon in your bedroom and having a sugar high until tomorrow afternoon." Slowly, she nodded and they started walking in the direction of her home, unbeknownst to the dark figure starting at them from inside a dome of tree leaves.

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><p>"Wha-"Magenta exclaimed with weary eyes. "Where am I?" Her head ached as she sat up, laying a hand to it before pulling back as she touched something sticky. She could see in the moonlight that her head was coated in red, and she sucked in a panicked breath. <em>Blood? I was bleeding? Shit, how long have I been out?<em>

Something howled in the distance and she jumped, eyes widening like saucers. _Oh shit, I'm being hunted. I'm prey. Shit, I have to get out of here._ Slowly, she stood up with the help of a tree, making her way across the dirt with a limp. Somehow her foot had been damaged to the point of swelling black and purple, and it was a bitch to walk on. With every step she held in a yelp that would surely alert the animal where she was_. Oh, who am I kidding? He can probably just smell the fear rolling off of me._ She cringed when an owl hooted from a tree above, and flinched when a squirrel skittered up a branch.

_Meredith was right, I'm so stupid. If I hadn't let Timmy get me so angry I wouldn't be in this mess._ A scary thought cause a shiver down her spine. _Wait, where's Meredith?_ The picture of the dark figure that had been chasing them flashed in her head. _Oh no, what if they got her?_ She swallowed and pushed the thought down with a glare at the ground. _I can't be thinking like that. I have to be positive. If I keep searching these woods for her we'd both be dead._

She yelped as her foot hit the ground roughly, tears running down her cheeks. _Come on, Magenta, you're almost there._ Just a few more steps and you'll be in her back yard. The opening shone with moonlight, and she could see the glistening red swing set that Meredith's brother played on religiously. Magenta pushed herself faster as she filled with anxiousness. _Please let Meredith be there. Please, Lord. I beg of you. Please let my best friend be safe._

Without warning her head started bleeding again, dripping down her forehead and nose. She close her mouth and wiped her hand across her eyes to keep the blood from getting in them. _Come on, Magenta. You can do this._ She saw the front porch light and the wooden steps of the front porch as she broke out of the woods, the wet grass cooling her now numb foot. The sprinklers sprayed her with water, and she smiled at the feeling. So cool, so wet. She fell forward as she finally reached the stairs, pulling herself back up when her hand caught the hand rail. Slowly she pulled herself up the three steps and dragged herself across the deck, knocking on the door before she fell backwards and lost consciousness.


	2. Chapter Two: Naked Endeavours

Chapter Two.

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><p>"Magenta, oh my gosh!" Meredith ran towards the door as she saw her best friend fall backwards on her porch, a feeling of relief filling her body. <em>Thank you God for keeping her safe. Thank you so much. <em>Tears ran down her cheeks as she opened the screen door and pulled Magenta's unconscious body into her arms. "Oh my gosh, I'm so happy that you're okay. So relieved."

"We need to get her inside, Mer. Her head's bleeding." Meredith nodded and slowly lifted her up, Otto coming to the other side of Magenta to help. After a few struggling minutes they had Magenta situated on the couch, a towel under her head to catch any blood and a rag tending to her wound. "How do you think she got that gash?" Meredith shrugged, more tears dripping down her face.

"She must have tripped. Who knows how long she's been looking for the house. Shit, could you take over while I call my mom and let her know we've found her?"

"Sure thing."

"Be back in a second." As she walked out of the living room and into the kitchen she pulled out her cell phone, breathing in a breath before dialing the number. A sweat broke out across her forehead.

"Hello?" Her mother, Marissa, asked in a frantic voice on the other line.

"We found her- Well, I mean, she found us." Marissa let out a relieved sigh and told the news to the other adults around her. Magenta's parents, Dana and Christopher, cried tears of happiness.

"Is she alright?" Meredith bit her lip and gulped down the boulder in her throat.

"She has a huge gash on her head that we're cleaning up, but besides that we don't know." There was a long silence before Marissa breathed in deeply and spoke.

"Get her cleaned up and into bed. She can stay with us for tonight, and then her parents can take her to the hospital in the morning after she's had some rest and a good shower."

"I really hope she's okay, mom."

"Me too, honey. She's in our prayers." They said a quick I love you and goodbye and hung up, a sob ripping out of Meredith's throat as the realization of what had happened sunk in. _My best friend could be seriously injured and it's all my fault, she thought to herself_, wiping the tears away as the rolled down her cheeks and dripped on her sweater. _If I hadn't run off like some lunatic none of this would be happening and we would be watching scary movies and eating a tone of junk food._ She looked over and eyed the Twizzlers on top of the counter, covering her mouth as another cry broke through. Her favorite candy. She turned towards the doorway and her eyes caught Otto's dark ones. He opened his arms and she fell into them, crying loudly. A tear rolled down his cheek and into her blonde hair. What a horrible night.

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><p>The sun shone brightly through the bedroom window, and Magenta's eyes opened slowly, groaning as her body ached. She slowly sat up and looked around her, running a hand through her red hair. A white bed spread with aqua elephants stared back at her, Meredith's elephant pillow pet flopping on its side as she raised her other arm and rubbed her eyes. <em>Wha- how did I get here?<em> Her eyes traveled to the floor, where Meredith lay in an abnormal angle, skin flushed. _What happened last night?_

"Meredith." She whispered, crawling towards the end of the bed and poking the blonde in the nose. "Wake up."

"Five more minutes, mom." Meredith batted her hand away and turned over, clutching her pink monkey pillow pet like a vice.

"Meredith, wake up! I'm hungry!" Magenta screeched loudly, causing Meredith's eyes to snap open. She sat up and glared at her friend, tossing the pillow pet as she stood up.

"Why are you up so early? It's like eight in the morning, Mags." Magenta shrugged, scratching her chin with a grin.

"A hungry stomach never waits." Meredith rolled her eyes and opened the drawer to her dresser, pulling out two packs of poptarts. She handed one to Magenta and opened the other one, biting into the chocolaty goodness of smores. Magenta looked at her for a moment, not touching it.

"What's wrong now?"

"I want warm poptarts." Meredith groaned and yanked the pack of poptarts out of her lap as she walked out the door. Magenta slid off of the bed and attempted to follow, yelping as the wooden floor made contact with her foot. _Oh, right._ _I injured myself somehow last night. I guess I better start limping_.

Meredith sat on a stool as she ate her poptart and waited on her best friend's to finish warming up. Otto yawned from the doorway, rubbing his eyes roughly. He slid his glasses on with another yawn.

"Good morning, sugar cube." Otto sat down next to her, stealing her other poptart from the package. "Thank god for Mrs. Reynold's letting me have today off." Magenta hobbled into the room then, plopping down in an open chair at the dining room table.

"Morning." Meredith said absentmindedly, looking over at her best friend with a worried expression. Magenta's ankle was black and purple, swollen out of proportion. Last night it had only been slightly swollen and red. "Shit, Maggs. Your ankle looks terrible."

"Yeah, it hurts like a bitch." The poptarts popped, and hurriedly Meredith slid them onto a plate and walked over to where Magenta sat, sliding them on the table in front of her.

"Need a drink?"

"Milk sounds nice." Marissa opens the front door and appears from out of the living room, body slumping a little with aches and pains. Her uniform was splattered with blood, her cheek covered in the dry substance. Right after staying up all night looking for her daughter's best friend, she had to go to work at the town's pig plant, which meant killing pigs for hours on end. Meredith came back with the glass of milk and handed it to Magenta, going and sitting next to her mom with concern.

"You okay mom?" Marissa waved her off with the back of her hand, breathing in deeply to calm her nerves. Meredith knew life wasn't easy for her right now.

"I'm fine, sweetie. Did you call Magenta's parents yet?" She shook her head.

"I was waiting on her to shower and change. You know, so she didn't smell like butt when the doctor checked her out."

"I don't smell like butt!"

"Yes you do, sweetie. Now hurry up into the bath." She turned to Meredith, whose brow was furrowed. "It'll be easier with her foot. You'll have to help her."

"But she'll be naked."

"And? You guys are best friends. It isn't a big deal."

"Yes it is, mom. I don't want to see my best friend _naked_. Gross." Otto chuckled from the table, grabbing the glass of milk from Magenta and chugging the content. She glared at him, sticking her tongue out. He laughed harder at her.

"You're helping her bathe and that is final. I'll call her parents. Let her borrow some clothes." Meredith sighed in defeat. There wasn't much she could do in this situation. She'd just have to suck it up and be there for her friend in her time of need. Even if the thought of seeing anyone naked, especially Magenta, made her stomach clench with anxiety.

"Alright, mom." She stood up from her spot on the couch and heaved Magenta form her chair, grunting at the weight.

"Hey, you could give me a warning here!"

"Just shut up and hop." Slowly, but surely, they made their way across the room and into the bathroom down the hallway, the bright light blinding their eyes. A fresh set of powder blue towels sat by the tub, no doubt her mother's work while they were asleep. Meredith helped Magenta sit on the fluffy toilet seat cover, breathing in deeply to calm your nerves. She turned around and braced herself.

"Okay, strip."


End file.
